after dinner sneeze

The tapas storm was well underway when the above photo was taken at Picaro.  First off, I have to say that the restaurant was quite large for SF!  When walking in, it felt like the restaurant just kept going and going and going!  We eventually sat in the backyard area, which had tables which could easily accommodate 6 (or a cozy 8) – definitely a great place for gatherings.  The sangria was also great for parties – smooth, off-dry, not-gross, and cheap (a pitcher for $10 before 7pm!).  The menu was overhwelming – fortunately, cm took charge and helped us pick out a well-rounded, well-balanced meal (i.e. I think we got one veggie dish …).  As for the food: it was quite good!  Not to be confused with fancy/modern/prissy tapas, this was much closer to the foods we had in Spain than anything else we’ve had in the states.  The jamon was thick-cut, the cheese was unfussy, the croquetas were on point.  Everything tasted “just right”.

And the paella!  Another solid dish!  Ours had a nice mix of seafood and meats, most of which were nicely tender (clams a bit overdone) – next time we’re definitely going squid ink for a bit more of that briny seafood flavor.  Also, the pan came out nice and hot, which gave us a nice char on the rice.  This was a great crowd-pleaser.  As far as the price of dinner?  $60 per couple.  That’s it!  Including Sangria!  And we had leftovers!  INSANE.  Really the only thing that I wish was that it could be BYO – but hell – for that price, I’d happily pay corkage!  (Or just drink more sangria …)